Interesting dental hygiene facts
Most of the time, our discussions about dental hygiene revolve around taking care of your teeth and gums to help ensure effective dental health. Today, though, we thought it’d be fun to deviate from the norm a bit and discuss a few interesting dental hygiene facts. Feel free to share these with your friends to help them with their dental health! (See… dentists can be funny, too!)
Ancient Civilizations Created Cosmetic Dentistry
When we think of cosmetic dentistry and restorative dentistry, most of us consider these to be new concepts. However, even though dentistry has become much more advanced in recent years, ancient civilizations as far back as 700 B.C. and probably sooner had begun replacing damaged teeth with other materials. They even made dentures out of ivory, bone, and the teeth of animals.
Today’s Root Canals Are Surprisingly Pain-Free
Many people seem to shudder at the mention of a root canal because it has such a reputation of being a long, painful procedure. Those fears are unfounded today. Thanks to various advances in technique, tools, and painkillers, having a root canal has become much more routine and is completed with little to no pain. Plus, crowns are now constructed and applied during the same visit to your family dentist, which saves you a second trip.
Milk Can Help Your Teeth Inside and Outside Your Mouth
Since we were young children, we’ve been told how important milk can be to building strong, healthy bones. This is a great way to build healthy teeth, too. Milk has a second use that many people don’t know about. In the event that you have an accident and a tooth is knocked out, put the tooth and milk and then keep it in your mouth. This will help it survive longer so that your dentist has a better chance of putting it back in.
Your Mouth Has More Bacteria Than Earth’s Population
Are you sitting down? We don’t want to gross you out, but the bacteria in your mouth is something that you’ll never escape. There are more than 700 different types of bacteria that you may find in there and each tooth can often have between 100 million and 1 billion bacteria. It’s really better that you don’t think about it too much.
No, George Washington Didn’t Have Wooden Teeth
Out of all the dental hygiene facts listed here, this one represents one of the biggest myths of all. For years, many people have grown up believing that our first president, George Washington, had wooden teeth that had replaced his original teeth due to bad dental health. We won’t judge him if the bad dental health part was true because dental care was a lot more difficult back then, but we definitely know that his teeth were not made of wood. They were actually constructed from gold, hippopotamus tusks, and other human teeth.
A Dental Assistant Became the First Dental Hygienist in 1905
The role of the dental hygienist was pretty much created by accident. Irene Newman was working as a dental assistant for Dr. Alfred Fones in 1905. The same year that he had graduated from dental school, it was discovered that bacteria caused tooth decay. Dentists were having a difficult time applying this knowledge to their work because they were already so busy that they couldn’t add this to their list of services. Dr. Fones solved this problem by training Irene, his cousin, to do the cleanings as part of his practice.
Contact Harborview Dental Health for Dental Hygiene
Harborview Dental Health has become the premier location for gentle dental in Palm Harbor. Visit our facility and we’ll teach you more dental hygiene facts to help improve the health of your teeth. We can also help you finance dental work to give you more options. Get in contact with our dentist in Palm Harbor by calling (727) 785-4716 to schedule an appointment today!